Have any verified videos shown NYPD officers detaining federal agents during immigration operations in the last five years?
Executive summary
No verified video evidence has emerged in the last five years showing New York Police Department officers detaining federal immigration agents; a widely shared clip purporting to show exactly that was identified as an AI-generated fabrication by AFP’s fact-checking unit [1], and contemporaneous reporting of real-world confrontations in New York describes NYPD distancing itself from—or assisting—federal operations rather than arresting federal officers [2] [3].
1. The viral clip that sparked the claim was debunked as synthetic
A short, widely circulated clip that appeared to show two Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in handcuffs being led to an NYPD vehicle was analyzed and declared AI-generated by AFP’s fact-checkers, who documented the clip’s spread across X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook and warned it was not authentic footage of NYPD arresting federal agents [1].
2. Contemporary on-the-ground reporting shows cooperation or separation, not NYPD arrests of federal agents
News coverage of major immigration operations in New York City, including the October Canal Street operation in 2025, recorded dozens of federal agents detaining people and federal authorities loading detainees into vans while the NYPD publicly stated it had “no involvement in the federal operation” [2]; other contemporary accounts describe federal agents emerging from a garage and assisting NYPD in detaining protesters, not federal agents being arrested by local police [3].
3. City investigations and political rhetoric have raised tensions but produced no verified footage of NYPD arresting federal officers
Local political actors have urged the NYPD to hold federal agents accountable for alleged unlawful conduct—Congressman Dan Goldman formally requested the NYPD prepare to enforce state and local laws against abusive federal immigration agents (including potential arrests) in a October 2025 letter [4]—and New York oversight reporting has probed NYPD compliance with sanctuary protections [5], but those developments reflect policy and advocacy landscapes rather than providing authenticated video evidence of NYPD detaining federal immigration officers [5] [4].
4. Protest clashes and charged confrontations have generated many real videos — of federal agents being filmed, not detained by NYPD
Footage from other cities (Minneapolis) and New York protests captured heated encounters in which federal agents arrested community members, clashed with demonstrators, or used force; AP and major outlets published such videos and reporting showing federal arrests and confrontations with protesters, which has heightened scrutiny of federal tactics, but none of the provided reporting documents verified footage of NYPD placing federal immigration agents in handcuffs [6] [7] [8].
5. Why the mistake spreads — incentives, deepfakes and the political context
The political salience of immigration enforcement, calls from officials to police federal agents, and aggressive social media sharing create strong incentives to amplify footage that appears to vindicate local resistance; fact-checkers specifically identified an AI-generated clip that matched those narratives and noted its viral spread across platforms [1], while reporting on real operations shows a more complicated tapestry of separation, occasional logistical cooperation, and contested roles between city and federal authorities [2] [3].
6. Limits of the available reporting and where uncertainty remains
The reporting supplied here runs through early 2026 and includes fact-checks, local reporting, and political statements; within those sources there is no verified video showing NYPD officers detaining federal immigration agents during operations in New York in the past five years, but the absence of such footage within these sources does not prove an absolute impossibility beyond the reporting window or outside the documents provided — it only means the claim lacks verification in the cited contemporaneous record [1] [2] [3] [4].